Winding apparatus



Feb 11, 1958 c. w. HUNT ETAL 2,

WINDING APPARATUS Fild July 3, 1953 INVENTORS- CHARLES W. HUNT HOWARD SITTIG BY I ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent" WINDING APPARATUS Charles W. Hunt and Howard Sittig, Cumberland, Md, assignors to Celanese Corporation of America, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application July 3, 1953, Serial No.-365,811

20 Claims. (CI. 57-34) This invention relates to the winding of yarn-v and relate's more particularly to a ring spinning device forwinding yarn on abobbin.

It is an; object of this invention to: provide a novelapparatus for the winding of yarn,- whichapparatus" will eifect the operation of throwing the ya'rn' onto-a bob'bin, or other yarn package support, insuch a manner that the bobbin does not carry a long l'oose tailland con-tamination of: the yarn is thereby greatly reduced or eliminated.

Another object ofthis invention is the' provision of a new and improved winding apparatus that makes it possible to place the first wrap of yarn at .a. predetermined point on the bobbin, or other yar-n packageusupport.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a yarn Winding apparatus by means of whichasrelatively unskilled operator may thread the 'yarnthroughithez apparatus and throw said yarn efli'ciently onto the package support.

One embodiment of this invention can ib'e constructed by modifying a ring. spinner of the usu-a'lltype',.zin'which there is a vertically reciprocating ring rail, carrying a ring and a traveler, a stationary spindl'e r'ail car'rying ai'vertical rotatable spindle on which a1bobbin is adapted to be mounted, a balloon guide mounted above the bobbin: ata point on the extended center'iline of: said .bo'bbin,:and:a;feed roll for supplying yarn-to the 'balloonzguide. The-traveler, which is a guide for directing the yarntfrom the-balloon guide onto the bobbin, is-iloosely mounted on-the ring for movementtin a circular path around: said-bobbin. The yarn is distributed :in the desired manner along the length of the bobbin by virtu'eiot the reciprocating action of the ring rail and traveler. According to the present invention, this conventional ring spinner is modifiedhy providing it with a special base forthexbobbin and: witha guide, mounted below the bobbin,- -ior :receivingthe-yarn from the traveler, which'guide is adapted to engag'e the yarn only-during the periodiot time when no yarnis being wound-on the bobbin. More particularly, the special ba'se is provided with a slot and with a rubberinsert for the purpose of catching and gripping the yarn in order to start the yarn windingon the bobbin. The base and the.

yarn guide are so mounted relative to the' traveler'that the base can catch and gripthe yarn during onlya poris taken up as waste. .on vthevsp'indle'rail 17 and is so positioned that-the hori- :zontal distance from the verticalaxis of the bobbin 27 to the inner hook 41 of said guide -=is-greater than the 2,322,6h0 Patented Feb. v11, 1958 2 3 --3' of! Fig. 2 and also showing the spindlewhorl, a portion of "the spindle and a portionof the bobbin.

Referring now to the drawing, reference numeral 11 designates a ring'spinner which comprises'a traveler 1'2 rnounted on a spinning ring 13 set in a ring holder 14,

which is in turn mounted on a ring rail 16 adapted'to'be reciprocate'd vertically by any suitable mechanism (not shown). Beneath the ring rail 16 there is a stationary spindle rail 17 carrying a rotatable tapered spindle blade 18 (Fig. 3),, of conventional construction The spindle blade 18 supports a spindle whorl 19 having a tapered bore 21 and an outer surface 22 adapted to'beengaged by a driving belt (not shown). The spindle'blade I8 is force'- fitted within the bore 21 so that the'spindle blade rotates with'the whorl 19"when the latter isdri'ven by the aforementioned belt. Fixed to the'whorl, as by means of screws (not shown) he bobbin support or base 23 comprisinga fiat' circular plate 24*havinggon its upper surface a" fiat disk 26'-(Fig: 3) on which a flanged bobbin 27 is ad'aptedto rest.

The plate 24 -is preferably' made of compressed fiberor other' suit'able material, whilethe disk 26 is made of amate'rial, such-as cork, which has a high coefficient of friction with the' bot'tom of the bobbin 27, wherebythe bobbin is -caused to-rotate when the whorl 19- and the base 23-arewotated'. The'plate '24 anddisk 26 have central apertures for receiving the-spindle blade 18, which eX-tend'sup intothe bore of' bobbin- 27; The outer edge of the 'plate24 i's provided with a slot 28, which slot is cut. through the thickness of said plate, along-a chord, at an acute angle to the vertical, this angle being indicated as u-(Fig. 53). At the inner endof the slot 28 there is "mounted a-soft rubber insert'29 which substantially fills the upper portion of said innerend It will be readily seen that when a yarn enters the slot 28"and reaches the inuerrnostiend thereof, the yarn will be gripped firmly between the rubber insert 29 and an edge of the-slot.

A yarn, designated by reference numera1 3-1 ,;is supplied continuously to the ring spinner from any suitable source such: as a spinning cabinet (not'show'n): and travels, .in the direction shown by the arrows, from said source, under a thread outlet bar 32, over a continuously driven rotating lubricating roll 33 wherea suitable yarn lubricant' is applied, arounda continuously driven rotating feed roll- 34, through a back guide 36 mounted on a :bar 37, through a balloon guide 38 mounted on a rail 39, and then to the traveler -12. When the yarn-31 is being wound on the bobbin 27 the yarn passes from thetrav'eler 12 to the rotating bobbin. However, during'the periodsof time when no-yarn is being wound on the bobbin, that is, after a full "bobbin has been removed and beiore the yarn has been thrown ontothe empty bobbin,- thebase 24 and bobbin 127 are-maintained stationary by the brake (not shown) of the' ring' spinn'er 11 and: the-yarn is caused to follow the path-shown in'Fig. 1

- of the drawing, i. e. through the ring 1-3 to an inner hook 41- formed at the free upper end of aguide '42, then under s an outer book 43 of said guide, up throughthe interior radius of the plate 24, which radius is in turn greater than the horizontal distance from saidvertical axis to the traveler 12, while the outer hook 43, which is spaced away fromthe free upper end of the guide 42, is even fartherrfrom' said axis than the inner hook. Accordinglygithe downward path of the yarn fromthe traveler 12'=:to':the..inner hook tlziforms an'angle with the-vertical,

which angle varies continuously as the ring rail 16 moves up and down. Thus, this angle will be smallest when the ring rail 16, ring 13 and traveler 12 are at their highest level and will be largest when they are at their lowest level. The horizontal distance between the inner book 41 and the axis of the bobbin 27 is such that when the traveler 12 moves downwards to a point at or near its lowest level, just above the lower flange of the bobbin 27, the yarn passing from the traveler 12 to the inner hook 41 will be brought into contact with the outer edge of the plate 24. This contact has substantially no effect on the yarn when the base 23 'is maintained stationary by the brake, since there is no force applied which would tend to cause the yarn to move along the length of the slot 28 and engage the rubber insert 29.

In order to start the winding action the brake is released, permitting the base 23 and the bobbin 27 to rotate, while the ring rail 16 continues its reciprocating vertical motion. When the ring 13 and traveler 12 are at or near their lowest level the yarn comes into contact with the outer edge of the rotating plate 24 and is forced by the rotation of said plate into the slot 28 and into engagement with the rubber insert 29 so that the yarn is gripped betweensaid insert and the edge of said slot. Since the yarn is thus firmly held by the base 23, the rotary motion of said base is impartedto the yarn, which accordingly begins to windaround the bobbin 27, and the yarn breaks at the lower face of the plate 24. Since the end of the yarn being wound on the bobbin is held securely in the slot 28 it is therefore prevented from whipping about and becoming contaminated with dirt or oil. Moreover, there is only a very short section of yarn between the end of the yarn and the first wrap of yarn around the bobbin.

The angle or of the slot 28 should be approximately equal to the angle which the yarn passing from the traveler 12 to the inner book 41 makes with the vertical whenthe ring rail 16 is at or near its lowest level. When these two angles are equal the yarn will readily enter into the slot 28 and move into a position between outer edge of the rubber insert 29 and the edge of the slot.

If desired, the winding operation need not be started at or near the bottom of the bobbin 27. By suitably adjusting the position of the inner book 41, the angle of the yarn passing from the traveler 12 to said book can be varied to bring the yarn into contact with the edge of the plate 24 when the ring 13 and traveler 12 are at some higher level, so that the first wrap of yarn around the bobbin 27 occurs at or near this higher level. To accomplish this result it is, of course, necessary to time the. release of the brake so that the ring 13 is above the desired level of the first wrap of yarn when the brake is released, and it is desirable to employ a base in which the angle a of the slot 28 equals the angle made by the yarn at the instant when said yarn comes into contact with the edge of the plate 24. However, it is generally more desirable to minimize the length of the untwisted portion of yarn between the disk 29 and the first wrap of yarn on the bobbin, which portion must be covered by the first layer of wind. Accordingly, it is advantageous to so position the niner book 41 that the winding operation starts at or near the bottom of the bobbin 27. For example, the inner hook 41 may be adjusted to cause the winding to begin when the traveler 12 is about two inches above the upper surface of the lower flange of the bobbin, that is, when the traveler is spaced from said lower flange a distance equal to about one fourth of the traverse stroke of said traveler. I

After a full bobbin 27 has been removed from the ring spinner the yarn is threaded through the apparatus in the following manner: The yarn is passed from the feed roll 34 to the back guide 36, then to the balloon guide 38, to the upper guide 44 and back to the feed roll- 34. Then the yarn passing from the balloon guide '4 38 to the upper guide 44 is drawn down manually through the interior of the ring 13 in the form of a loop, is engaged by the traveler 12, and is slipped under the books 41 and 43 of the lower guide 42. This operation may be carried out after an empty bobbin 27 has been placed in the ring spinner 11. The base 23 is kept stationary by the brake of the ring spinner 11 during the operation of threading the yarn through the apparatus and there is therefore no serious danger that the fingers of the operator will be pinched between the reciprocating ring rail 16 and the flanges of the bobbin 27. v

When the apparatus of the present invention is employed, the operation of throwing the yarn onto the bobbin may be carried out in a highly elficient and accurate manner by a relatively unskilled operator, and there is very little waste of yarn caused by unsuccessful attempts at throwing the yarn into the bobbin.

While the apparatus of this invention has been described in connection with the winding of a single bobbin 27, it is to be understood that, in accordance with the usual practice in the art, the spindle rail 17 may support a number of identical spindles 18 and the ring rail 16 may carry a similar number of rings 13 and travelers 12, so that the winding operation may be carried out at a plurality of positions along the length of said rails, using a base 23, a lower guide 42 and an upper guide 44 at each position.

It is to be understood that the foregoing detailed description is given merely by way of illustration and that many variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Having described our invention what we desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an apparatus for winding yarn on a yarn package support, a guide, mounted for axial movement relative to a yarn package support, for directing the yarn around said support, a second guide for engaging the yarn after it has left said first-mentioned guide, said second guide being spaced from said support, said guides being spaced at different radial distances from the axis of said support whereby the angular position of the yarn passing between said guides varies during the axial movement of said first guide, and means operatively connected to said support for rotation therewith, said means being spaced both axially and radially intermediate said guides and being adapted, on rotation, ..to catch said yarn, the radial distance between said means and said axis being such that said means can engage said yarn during only a portion of theaxial movement of said first guide.

. 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the second guide is spaced at a greater radial distance from said axis than said first guide.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which the radial distance between said means and said axis is such that said means can engage said yarn only when said first guide isadjacent that end of said support which is nearest to said second guide.

4. In an apparatus for winding yarn on a yarn package support, a guide, mounted for axial movement relative to a yarn package support, for directing the yarn around said support, a second guide for engaging the yarn after ithas left said first-mentioned guide, said second guide being spaced awayfrom the ends of said support, said guides being spaced at different radial distances from the axis of said support whereby the angular position of the yarn passing between said guides varies during the axial movementof saidfirst guide, and yarn gripping means spaced radially from said axis and operatively connected to said support for rotation therewith, said gripping means being 7 adapted to engage and firmly grip the yarn passing between said guides when said gripping means is rotated.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 in which the second guide is spaced at a greater radial distance from said axis than said first guide and the radial distance between said rippin ass amt saiit' star that and grating means can engage said yarn only when said firstgiiide is adjacent that end of said support which is nearest to sa1d second guide.

6. In a device for winding yarn on a yarn package support, a guide mounted for axial movement relative to said support, for directing the arn-around said support, a stationary second guide for engaging the yarn after it has left said first=mentioned guide, said second guide being spaced away front the ends" of said stlpport, the radial distance of said secondguide' from the axis of said support being greater than the radial distance of said first guide from said axis whereby the-angular'lposition of the yarn passing between said guidesvariesduriiig the axial movement of said first guide, a base on which said support rests, said base being operatively connected to said support for rotation therewith, said base having an edge spaced axially intermediate said guides and extending radially beyond the outer edge of said support, said base having an open-ended slot therein for catching said yarn on rotation of said base, the open end of said slot being spaced radially at a lesser distance than said second guide from said axis and being so located that it can catch said yarn during only a portion of the axial movement of said first guide.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 in which there is a gripping member in the slot and in which the open end of the slot is so located that it can catch said yarn only when said first guide is adjacent to that end of said support which is nearest to said second guide.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 in which said base comprises a circular plate having a radius less than the radial distance between said axis and said second guide and in which the slot opens on the outer edge of said plate and has a rubber member therein for gripping said yarn.

9. In a device for winding yarn on a flanged bobbin, a guide, mounted for vertical movement relative to said bobbin, for directing the yarn around the bobbin, a stationary second guide for engaging the yarn after it has left said first mentioned guide, said second guide being mounted below the bobbin at a radial distance from the axis of said bobbin greater than the radial distance of said first guide from said axis whereby the angular position of the yarn passing between said guides varies during the vertical movement of said first guide, and a rotatably mounted circular base having an upper surface for frictionally engaging and supporting said bobbin, the radius of said base being less than the radial distance between said axis and said second guide whereby the yarn passing to said second guide engages the outer edge of said base only when said first guide is in a position adjacent to the lowest portion of its vertical path, said base having a slot in the outer edge thereof for catching the yarn when said base rotates and means in said slot for gripping said yarn.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9 in which the slot is cut at an acute angle to the vertical, said angle being about equal to the angle to the vertical made by the yarn when the yarn comes in contact with said outer edge of said base.

11. In a ring spinning device for winding yarn on a yarn package support, an axially movable spinning ring encircling said support, a traveler mounted on said ring, a stationary guide for engaging the yarn after it has passed through said traveler, said guide being spaced away from the ends of said support and spaced radially from the axis of said support, and yarn gripping means spaced radially from said axis and operatively connected to said support for rotation therewith, said gripping means being adapted on rotation to engage and firmly grip the yarn passing from said traveler to said guide.

12. In a ring spinning device for winding yarn on a yarn package support, an axially movable spinning ring encircling said support, a traveler mounted on said ring,

passingfr axla movemen 6f saidtravelei, an r'fi'eanso erative-1y cam-eaten ta'sarwsnppert for "rotation 'thefewith said r'ria ns beir'ig spaced both axially'and radially intermediate said guideanesaia travelerana being adapte tion, to catch the yarn passing fro 'alidis't'afiee lietw' being s 1 ing: an pessim st-the 13. Apparatus according to claim 12 in which the guide is spaced at a greater radial distance from said axis than the traveler.

14. Apparatus according to claim 13 in which the radial distance between said means and said axis is such that said means can engage said axis only when the traveler is adjacent to that end of said support which is nearest to said guide.

15. In a ring spinning device for winding yarn on a yarn package support, a vertically movable spinning ring encircling said support, a traveler mounted on said ring, a guide for engaging the yarn after it has passed through said traveler, said guide being mounted below said support and being spaced radially at a greater distance from the axis of said support than said traveler whereby the angular position of the yarn passing from said traveler to said guide varies during the vertical movement of said traveler, and yarn gripping means operatively connected with said support for rotation therewith, said gripping means being spaced radially intermediate said traveler and said guide and being adapted on rotation to engage and firmly grip the yarn passing to said guide, the radial distance between said means and said axis being such that said means can engage the yarn only when said traveler is adjacent to its lowest position.

16. In a ring spinning device for winding yarn on a yarn package support, a vertically movable spinning ring encircling said support, a travel-er mounted on said ring, a guide for engaging the yarn after it has passed through said traveler, said guide being mounted below said support and being spaced radially at a greater distance from the axis of said support than said traveler whereby the angular position of the yarn passing from said traveler to said guide varies during the vertical movement of said traveler, a base on which said support rests, said base being operatively connected to said support for rotation therewith, said base having an edge spaced vertically intermediate said guide and said traveler and extending radially beyond the outer edge of said support, and having an open-ended slot in said edge for catching said yarn on rotation of said base, the open end of said slot being spaced radially at a lesser distance than said guide from said axis and being so located that it can catch the yarn during only a portion of the vertical movement of said traveler.

17. Apparatus according to claim 16 in which the open end of the slot is so located that it can catch said yarn only when the traveler is adjacent to the lower end of said support.

18. Apparatus according to claim 17 in which said base comprises a circular plate having a radius less than the radial distance between said axis and said guide and in which the slot opens on the outer edge of said plate and has a rubber member therein for gripping said yarn.

19. In a ring spinning device for winding yarn on a flanged bobbin, a vertically mova'ble spinning ring encircling said support, a traveler mounted on said ring, a stationary guide for engaging the yarn after it has passed through the traveler, said guide being mounted below the bobbin at a radial distance from the vertical axis of said bobbin greater than the radius of said ring whereby the angular position of the yarn passing to said guide varies during the vertical movement of the traveler,'and a rotatably mounted circular base having'anupper surface for frictionally engaging and supporting said bobbin, the radius of said base being less than said radial distance whereby the yarn passing to said guide engages the outer edge of said base only when the traveler is in a position adjacent to the lowest portion of its vertical motion, said base having a slot in the outer edge thereof for catching the yarn when said base rotates and means in said slot for gripping said yarn.

20. Apparatus according to claim 19 in which the slot is out at an acute angle to the vertical, said angle being i about equal to the angle to the vertical made by the yarn when the yarn comes in contact with said outer edge of said base.

References Cited in the file of this patent "UNITED STATES PATENTS 880,014 Cumnock Feb. 25, 1908 2,261,239 Elvin et a1. Nov. 4, 1941 2,542,106 Ayala Feb. 20, 1951 10 2,582,696. Haythornthwaite Jan. 15, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 3,370 Great Britain of 1875 668,527 Great Britain Mar. 19, 1952 

